Date Thesis Awarded
5-2009
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
Anthropology
Advisor
Martin D. Gallivan
Committee Members
Frederick H. Smith
James Frusetta
Abstract
Comstock (44CF20) is a Middle/Late Woodland site on the western bank of the Appomattox River. Five and a half miles from the James River intersection, it also lies on a cultural barrier, dividing the Algonquian and Siouan language groups, and later, the Monacan and Powhatan cultures. A true Falls Zone site, its ceramic collection implies cultural mixing -- both Piedmont and Coastal Plain influences are often seen in the same feature, if not in the same sherd's temper and surface treatment. The longevity of the occupation of Comstock provides an exciting opportunity to recreate a historical narrative which maps the influences of the Coastal Plain and Piedmont peoples on this particular settlement. More importantly, Comstock brings forth dissonance between the typological, essentialized characteristics of the two groups on either side of the river, and the way that the individuals at Comstock chose to negotiate their own cultural identity.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Jessica, "I Declare War on Typology: Breaking the Silence of Borderland Peoples through Case Study Archaeology at the Fall Zone" (2009). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 318.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/318
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Comments
Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.